Central Bank Watch
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
March 17, 2015
Monetary officials in Turkey have been subjected to relentless pressure from the autocratic Prime Minister Erdogan to reduce interest rates more quickly. Selling pressure on the lira had lifted inflation, forcing the central bank to jack up its one-week repo rate by 550 basis points to 10% in January 2014. At that time, too, the […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank Indonesia Fails to Spring Another Surprise Rate Change
March 17, 2015
At an unscheduled meeting in November, Bank Indonesia had made a 25-basis point hike of the BI reference interest rate, bringing to 200 basis points the cumulative tightening cycle begun in June 2012. Three months later, Bank Indonesia joined a bunch of other Asian central banks that have eased their stance in response to the […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Japan Hunkering Down and Putting Up an Optimistic Front
March 17, 2015
What stands out about today’s central bank statement is not what changed but how much was kept the same. The March Policy Board meeting did not adjust its stance and released an identical statement to the month before with the one notable exception of a downward revision of core inflation. The meeting lasted five hours […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
European Share Prices Lower.. So Is the Price of Oil
March 17, 2015
In contrast to gains yesterday in North America that continued in the Pacific Rim today, European stock markets have a mostly offered tone. First Asia, where share prices closed up 2.1% in South Korea, 1.1% in India and Indonesia, 1.0% in Japan and 1.4% in China. Australia’s market climbed 0.8%. But in Europe, stocks are […] More
